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Yesterday, Wednesday 20th November, was Transgender Day of Remembrance. We laid a wreath in the ‘April Ashley: portrait of a lady‘ exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool to commemorate all those who have been murdered or taken their own lives because of transphobia.

Representatives from Armistead, Merseyside Police, Transforum, Homotopia and Trans-Chester joined visitors and staff in a minutes silence.
April herself suffered transphobia throughout her life, from family members, the media and also strangers in the street.
You can find out more about hate crime from members of the trans community and Merseyside Police in the exhibition.

Have you ever wondered who the first couple to be married in the crypt, the only part of Sir Edwin Lutyen’s design for Liverpool’s Catholic Cathedral that was ever built, were?

It was Phil and Ann Fanning in 1960, a fact of which they were both very proud.

One of their bridesmaids, Liz (Phil’s sister, aged 11), remembers that the dresses were made of white nylon, patterned with blue flowers. In the 1970’s Ann and Phil moved to Hong Kong with their two sons where they spent 12 years. Read more…

Today, 17 April, is Billy Fury’s birthday. Many of his fans, some from across the world, will be in the city to celebrate and remember him. This year is especially poignant as it is the 30th anniversary of his death.

During the 1950s Billy was one of the biggest hit makers in the country. Billy Fury was born Ron Wycherley in 1940. He left school at 15 and, inspired by country music, began writing songs. Billy was the first musician from Liverpool to release a whole album of original material; The Sound of Fury. He is Liverpool’s first rock and roll star and is considered Britain’s greatest.

Lots of people will be coming to Liverpool for the Grand National this weekend but did you know that Aintree racecourse also had a motor racing track?

Motor racing became increasingly popular by the early 1950s. Mirabel Topham, owner of Aintree racecourse, took advantage of this appeal and built a motor racing track. Aintree hosted five Grand Prix races, including the 1957 race won by top British driver, Stirling Moss.

Today’s talk, ‘Our Amazing Liverpool Women’ at 3pm will include many inspirational women featured across the museum. Just one example is Catherine Harvey, who aged 24 was one of 25 women to join the 1981 People’s March for Jobs to protest against injustice and to demand the right to work. You can see the sash, which Catherine made and wore on the march on display in The People’s Republic gallery. Read more…

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month takes place every year this month. It celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community. A Liverpool Trans pioneer and inspiration, Miss April Ashley MBE, will be the focus of a groundbreaking exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool opening in September.

In partnership with Homotopia, the exhibition will tell the story of April’s life and will explore the significant role she has played in making social and political history in Britain. In detailing April’s life, the project will tell the wider story of social, political and legislative change affecting Trans, LGB and many other people in Britain over the past 70 years, and of the impact April’s story has had on family law and legal definitions of gender and identity. Read more…

Yesterday the Museum of Liverpool hosted ‘Never Forget’, a Holocaust Memorial Event in partnership with the Liverpool Association of Jewish Refugees. It was a very moving day where holocaust survivors, including Inge Goldrein who came to Liverpool aged 8 on the Kindertransport from Vienna, told us their experiences.

At the end of the day Dr Sylvia Jayson presented a special tablecloth to the Museum of Liverpool, which she had personally embroidered with the names of 42 Holocaust survivors who came to Merseyside. It is a wonderful addition to the museum’s collections and will help to ensure that their stories are never forgotten. Read more…

This year’s Biennial theme – Hospitality and the Unexpected Guest – made me think of this great object in the Museum of Liverpool’s collection. It is a plaque awarded to the City of Liverpool by Dutch reality TV programme ‘Nu we er toch zijn’.

A film crew from the show travelled around the country to determine how hospitable certain cities were. They would knock on stranger’s doors and ask if they could stay the night! Liverpool, of course, was one of the few cities to receive the gold award. The programme showed some great Liverpool characters and proved what a friendly and hospitable city we are.

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